


Figuring It Out

by celeste9



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Dating, First Kiss, Friendship, M/M, Matchmaking, Mutual Pining, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Sharing Clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 09:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14892314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celeste9/pseuds/celeste9
Summary: When Finn confides in Rey about his kiss with Rose, she decides that while she might be as inept at romance as he is, maybe she can help him sort out what it is he wants by setting him up on dates with cute Resistance members. Finn finds this vaguely baffling but sweet. Poe begins to invent reasons to crash said dates.Eventually, Finn and Poe might both determine what it is they want.





	Figuring It Out

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this prompt: _Rey listens to Finn process the kiss, the feelings he doesn't have for Rose, etc and realizing that while maybe she's not any more knowledged on the topic of romance, she's concerned and decides to set Finn up on blind dates that aren't blind dates. Like "hey I met this guy and figured why not invite him to our lunch. He works in command/analytics, is single, and loves dogs." Finn's oblivous and thinks, "Weird but okay. It's nice to know more than three people sometimes." Then Poe finds out, realizes Rey is trying to get Finn a boyfriend, and is a bit sad Rey didn't consider him (but she had it in the back of her mind, secretly). Rey continues with the blind dates, but Poe winds up crashing them._
> 
>  
> 
> _Finn, meanwhile, is having a sexuality crisis but feels so warm and fuzzy with Poe, who's getting possessive and rests an arm over his shoulder and casually touches all the time, lends Finn more clothes, is the center of Finn's attention and knows it._
> 
>  
> 
> _Rey, Finn, and Poe are ALL oblivious to the mutual pining between Finn and Poe._

The evacuation from D’Qar changed everything. Beyond the Resistance, and the First Order, it changed all the beings involved. Rey was different, and so was Finn. 

He wanted to talk to Rey about all of it but somehow it seemed less important than Luke Skywalker and Force bonds and killing Snoke. When Rey was talking about breaking lightsabers it seemed kind of stupid to follow it up with, ‘I had my first kiss!’ So he told her about Canto Bight and Rose and DJ and Hux, but not about what had happened on Crait with Rose.

But eventually, things settled. The Resistance found a new home, a new planet to recuperate on, and their remaining scattered forces began to return. New beings found them, beings who didn’t believe in what the First Order was doing, beings who had witnessed their atrocities firsthand as Rose had, beings who knew that what had happened to the Hosnian system couldn’t be allowed to stand, beings who still believed in the hope that Leia Organa stood for.

And after a while, talking about his own personal discoveries didn’t seem so stupid anymore.

“I kissed Rose,” Finn said, because he didn’t know a better way to say it but he felt like he had to tell Rey before he burst. “Or I guess, Rose kissed me.”

Rey watched him carefully. “And?”

“And I don’t know! I’ve never been kissed before! I guess I thought it would feel… different.”

“Different how?”

“I don’t know, just different.” Finn thought for a moment, trying to piece it together in his head. “I didn’t… feel anything? I mean, I was surprised, but, I don’t know. I like her but it felt weird.”

“You like her but you don’t want to kiss her?”

“I guess.”

“Maybe… you just want to be friends?” Rey shrugged. “I don’t know, Finn, I’m not really… Maybe you should ask Poe.”

Somehow that seemed like a terrible idea. The thought of talking to Poe about kissing Rose made Finn feel hot and uncomfortable. “I’m talking to you.”

Rey rolled her eyes. “I think my experience in being kissed by people is about the same as yours, so if you want good advice, I’m probably not your best option.”

Finn sighed. “Everything is confusing here.”

Rey settled with her shoulder bumping up against Finn’s. “I know. But we can be confused together?”

“Is it weird that that makes me feel better?”

“I don’t think so.” Rey was quiet for a moment. “Do you want to kiss someone else? Someone who isn’t Rose?”

Did he? “I guess I never really thought about it. Too busy trying to find you and then trying to not die to think about kissing.”

“But you like her.”

“Yeah, she’s nice, and she cares about the Resistance. She helped me understand how much I care about the Resistance. But I don’t… It felt weird.” Finn chewed on his lip. “Shouldn’t I…” His cheeks were burning. How did he tell Rey that he thought he should feel… things… about Rose that he didn’t think he felt?

But Rey was arching an eyebrow and asking, “You aren’t attracted to her?”

Damn he felt warm, like he was sweating through his shirt. “She’s pretty. But I don’t want, uh, I don’t want. Her.”

“Huh.” Rey seemed to find this significant but she didn’t elaborate.

“Let’s get something to eat,” Finn said, eager to escape this suddenly embarrassing conversation, and Rey let the whole topic drop.

-

Two days later she plopped down next to Finn as he sorted through an arms shipment they had just received and said, “Joph’s going to have lunch with us.”

“Joph?”

“Yeah, the pilot. He was on Coruscant during the evac, remember?” 

“Oh, right,” Finn said. He had been in the hangar with Poe last week when Finn tried to get Poe to join their game of sabacc. “Usually lunch is just us though.”

“I know, but I thought you might get along.”

“I guess it would be nice to make more friends here,” Finn said, though it still seemed kind of weird. Still, though, his acceptance made Rey smile at him and Finn approved of anything that made Rey smile.

-

“The whole planet is a city,” Rey said, clearly trying to picture it.

Finn, for one, couldn’t. He had seen some holos but it seemed unreal. “Just, like, one city? All together? And that’s Coruscant?”

“Maybe when this war thing is settled I’ll take you to see it,” Joph offered.

Ignoring the sudden weight of Rey’s gaze on the side of his face, Finn said, “Really? That would be great. I’d love to see more of the galaxy, places that aren’t… well, Jakku, for instance.”

Joph laughed and touched Finn’s hand. “I’ve never personally been to Jakku but I promise, Coruscant is more fun.”

“Don’t you have cadets to be training, Commander?”

They all turned to look at Poe, hovering behind the table where Finn, Rey, and Joph were having lunch. His expression was strangely tight.

“Nah, Commander, I’m free,” Joph said with a breezy smile. “You want to join us?”

When Poe hesitated, so oddly tense, Finn said, “Yeah, come on, Poe, have lunch with us.” 

Poe finally relaxed a bit, smiling at Finn and sitting down. He had shoved Joph over a little, making him move as Poe settled in directly across from Finn. Rey was biting her lip like she was hiding a smile, like she found this hilarious for some reason.

“Joph’s just been telling us about Coruscant,” Finn explained. “He says he can take us there.”

Poe’s spine stiffened again and he squeezed his hand around his fork. “He did, huh?”

“You’re welcome, too, of course, Poe,” Joph said.

“I’ve seen it,” Poe said, his voice weirdly flat, and spent the rest of the meal unusually quiet.

-

A few days after that, Finn was in Poe’s quarters reading while Poe forced himself to write up a report when out of nowhere he said, “I can take you to Coruscant, you know. If that’s something you’re interested in.”

Finn blinked at him. “What?”

Poe was still gazing down at his datapad. “You don’t need Joph. I’ll take you.”

“I don’t think… I mean, it was just an open invitation. We’re kind of busy.”

“You’ve got an open invitation from me to go anywhere in the galaxy you want,” Poe insisted, his focus remaining downward.

Finn got out of Poe’s desk chair to go sit next to him on the bed, nudging his side. “Thanks.”

“Sure,” Poe said, breathing out, and never looked at Finn.

-

“You haven’t spoken to Joph recently, have you?” Rey asked, as they gulped water during a break in their sparring session.

Finn dragged a towel over his face to wipe off the sweat. “No. Should I have?”

“I just wondered.” She paused for a few seconds. “C’ai is nice, don’t you think?”

“Poe’s friend? Sure. I guess I don’t really know him.”

“Well, here’s your chance, because I’m meeting Leia after we’re done so I told C’ai he could meet you for lunch.”

“Huh?” Finn frowned. “Why would you…”

“It’ll be fun,” Rey said, and settled into her ready stance. “Again?”

Finn dove low at her, swiftly distracted from why Rey lately seemed so interested in making him new friends.

-

When they finished they showered and then Rey smilingly pushed Finn along to the canteen before running off to Leia’s office herself. C’ai was already in line but he caught sight of Finn and waved to him, so Finn walked over, noticing that C’ai had been chatting with Poe.

“Hey,” Finn said, as C’ai greeted him in his own language and Poe offered a smile.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Poe said. “Thought you usually ate with Rey after your training.”

“Yeah, she ditched me. Shoved me off on C’ai instead,” Finn explained, as Poe’s smile wavered. “Dunno why she didn’t mention you.”

“I ran into Dameron waiting for you,” C’ai said, his voice pleasantly gruff. 

“Guess I’m always intruding on your fun,” Poe said, grabbing his tray off the rack and striding towards a table. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“You don’t have to go,” Finn called after him, but Poe just raised his hand dismissively.

Finn looked at C’ai, who shrugged. “He is a particularly emotional human,” he said, and Finn snorted.

“Yeah, he is,” and went to have lunch with C’ai. 

-

After C’ai, Rey arranged for Finn to go on a foraging trip with an operations controller called Volo, to have dinner with a mechanic called Torm, and to have lunch with her, Joph, and C’ai. She seemed oddly intent on him during said lunch; every time Finn glanced to her she was observing him carefully.

Finn tried mentally asking her why she was being so weird but she either didn’t get it or purposely ignored him.

Afterwards he asked her straight out. “What the hell, Rey? That was so weird. Why are you being so weird?”

“I’m not,” she said. “I’m just… seeing how you get on.”

“I don’t actually need you to make friends for me.”

She gave him a strange look, like she was confused. “Friends? Oh, it doesn’t matter. I’m just looking out for you,” she said, and changed the subject.

But it didn’t stop there.

Finn and Rey’s lunches were more frequently Finn and Rey and someone Rey met yesterday’s lunches. Finn didn’t really mind, though he had a vague concern Rey was bored of him or something.

Except that she was always steering the conversation to him. ‘Oh, Finn, you remember that time when--’ ‘Finn, tell him about--’ ‘Look, they’ve got that juice you like again, Finn!’

So maybe she just thought Finn couldn’t make any friends without her help. Which, again, was weird, but sort of sweet, he supposed. 

Poe used to join them sometimes when he was around, or at least stop by to say hello, but Finn had noticed him in the canteen a few times now just… Finn didn’t want to say brooding, or sulking, but there was a distinct glare to his expression as his sightline landed on Finn, Rey, and whatever special guest Rey had picked out for the day. 

That was really, really weird. Poe was a nice guy. A lot of these special guests were actually friends of his, or at least acquaintances. Finn couldn’t figure out why Poe wouldn’t like Finn making friends with them, too. 

“Poe’s been incredibly pissy lately,” he said to Rey once.

Her gaze was undeniably interested as it fixed on him. “Really?”

“Oh, come on. You must’ve noticed.”

She shrugged. “You spend more time with him than I do.”

“Not recently. Seems like he’s avoiding me.” It sucked. Poe was basically Finn’s favorite person who wasn’t Rey and he missed the way Poe smiled at him, like just seeing him made his day better.

He wondered if he had done something wrong. He wished Poe would tell him.

Rey regarded him thoughtfully. “Maybe you should ask him why that is.”

Finn picked at the seam of his pants. “What if he’s upset with me?”

“I doubt that’s true. But if he is, wouldn’t you want to know why?”

“I guess,” Finn admitted, so he got up. “I’m gonna do it now.”

Rey beamed at him. “Good luck!”

Poe was in the rec room watching a holovid that BB-8 was projecting while some of the other pilots played sabacc. He looked up and smiled when he saw Finn so maybe he couldn’t be that upset after all.

“Hey,” Finn said, and sat down next to Poe.

“Hey,” Poe said, as BB-8 shut off the vid. The droid burbled something and rolled off, leaving Finn with just Poe. “Kinda weird to see you on your own.”

“Huh?”

“You’re always with a new guy.”

“Oh,” Finn said, understanding dawning. “That’s Rey. She thinks I need more friends.”

Poe’s eyes were widening like he was piecing something together. “Rey? Thinks you need more friends. Specifically male-gendered friends.”

“That part’s strange, right? But whatever, it seems to make her happy.”

“So it’s like… set-ups.”

“Yeah? I guess.” Finn didn’t understand why Poe had placed a weird emphasis on that word. Set-up. What was the difference?

“But not--” Poe bit his lip like he was stopping himself from saying whatever he had been going to say.

Finn rested his hand on Poe’s thigh. “Poe? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.”

But he seemed sad, and Finn didn’t like it. “Poe, did I do something wrong?”

“What?” Poe faced him fully, gazes meeting and locking. “No, buddy, you didn’t. Everything’s fine.” Then he gave Finn that big smile he loved, that smile he had missed.

Finn smiled back.

-

A new pilot joined up, Syresh. He was tall and purple-haired and Finn suspected he had Pantoran blood somewhere in his ancestry; his smile was wide and infectious and reminded Finn of Poe. 

Rey invited Syresh to her and Finn’s lunches. Finn thought that was nice of her; Syresh didn’t know too many people yet. He came from a First Order occupied world and had terrible, terrible stories, stories like Rose’s, but he remained bright and cheerful and his smile really was something.

“So this is why you’re always the last one in to the afternoon briefing,” Poe said, standing with his tray beside their table.

“Sorry, Commander,” Syresh said, half off the bench like he was about to make some conciliatory gesture. 

Poe waved him back down and slid in next to Finn, close so their thighs touched. “Nah, it’s fine. Just… try not to let these two distract you, huh?”

“They’ve been kind,” Syresh said, before either Finn or Rey could get a word in.

“I bet,” Poe said, eyes meeting Rey’s, and he offered a berry to Finn.

“These weren’t there when I got my plate,” Finn exclaimed, and popped it in his mouth eagerly.

Poe gave him the rest off his plate while Rey watched them with an oddly focused gaze.

“Stop being weird,” Finn told her with his mouth full, and she blushed. “You’re the best,” he said to Poe once he’d swallowed, and got to appreciate Poe’s smile close-up.

-

Gradually Rey started backing out of mealtime with Finn and Syresh. Somehow she always magically had something else to do, though she remained keen on knowing how Finn and Syresh had gotten along without her.

Which was, inevitably, fine. Syresh was a nice guy and Finn liked him, and he really had a beautiful smile. But Finn, while he may have had an unorthodox upbringing that made him slow to pick up on cues that were obvious to other beings, was also not stupid, and he thought he finally knew what Rey was trying to do.

“You’re not trying to help me make more friends, are you,” he said to her one evening as they hung out in his quarters.

“Dunno what you mean,” she said, apparently extremely focused on the hilt of her new lightsaber.

“Uh huh.”

Rey looked slightly guilty as she finally met his eyes. “I just… I told you I’m not any good at this. But I thought maybe if I introduced you to people, you might figure out if you liked any of them like you didn’t like Rose. As more than a friend.”

Finn thought maybe he should be irritated at her meddling but honestly he was mostly just touched. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know. I just wanted to help.” Rey paused a moment. “So… do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Like anyone as more than a friend?”

Finn considered. He wasn’t entirely sure how to know. “I… I don’t know yet.”

“Well, we’ll just have to keep trying then,” Rey said brightly.

So he did. It wasn’t like spending time with Syresh, for example, was a hardship. 

Except that although Rey might have begun giving Finn space to spend time alone with Syresh, someone else wasn’t.

“Hey, buddy,” Poe would say, and invite himself to sit at their table. He always crowded too close but Finn didn’t mind; he liked the warm heat that radiated from Poe and the way he smelled.

Most of the time he brought something special for Finn; cakes he had wheedled out of the staff or some new fruit he was sure Finn would love. He gave Finn that big, wide smile and touched his wrist or his knee, and Syresh watched them with a glimmer of amusement.

Sometimes Finn felt a little bad for Syresh, like he would feel upstaged, but he never seemed irritated; Finn supposed it was impossible to stay irritated at Poe. 

But after a few days Syresh caught Finn near the armory and said, “Finn, you’re a great guy, but I think… Do you want to just be friends?”

And Finn wasn’t sure how it felt to want more, but he didn’t think he did. “Yeah. That’d be great.”

Syresh still had an amazing smile, but it didn’t make Finn feel quite as warm as Poe’s did.

-

Finn had an accident on Malastare, interrupting a First Order raid. He took blaster fire to his shoulder, not bad, but enough that he needed a trip to the infirmary when they returned to base. A Twi’lek doctor saw to him, handsome, his voice a pleasant tenor. 

“You’re rather refreshing,” he said. “You sit better than most of my other patients.”

“Better training,” Finn said with a grin. He looked up at an outburst of noise only to see Poe rushing towards him, features worried.

“Finn! Finn, pal, are you okay? I came as soon as I heard.”

“Good as new,” Finn said, flexing his shoulder. “Thanks to Zon.”

“We’re not quite there yet,” Zon cut in. “Restricted activity for the next few days, and that wrapping will need to be changed regularly.”

“I’ll make sure of it,” Poe said, and Finn rolled his eyes.

“Don’t need a minder, Poe.”

“Well, you’ve got one.” His eyes raked down over Finn’s bare chest as he slipped his shirt back on. “Looks like you need a new shirt, too.”

Finn touched the hole. “I can mend it. Rey’s been teaching me.”

“Hope you’re a better sewer than me.”

“That doesn’t take much.”

Poe flushed a little but he said, “You can borrow one of mine anyway, in the meantime.”

“I have my own shirts,” Finn protested. Poe was always giving him things.

“My quarters are closer,” Poe insisted, and Finn knew there was no point in arguing. 

He hopped down off the bed and smiled at Zon, who had been quietly observing them as he cleaned up. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

“My pleasure. Don’t let my hard work go to waste by doing something stupid.”

“I’ll look after him,” Poe said, looping his arm around Finn’s waist and steering him out. “Can’t believe they let you get shot. If I’d been there I would’ve--”

“It’s not even bad,” Finn said, kind of amused at Poe’s protectiveness. “You looked worse after Jakku.”

“Jakku,” Poe muttered, and let them into his quarters. He rummaged for a moment in a drawer while Finn removed his tattered shirt again, covering a wince as he raised his arm.

“I would’ve helped you,” Poe said, overly concerned, holding a shirt in his hands as Finn met his gaze.

“I can dress myself, actually.”

Poe smoothed one gentle hand over Finn’s arm, skimming over the skin beyond the wrapping. “Said I’d look after you,” he said, and held up his clean shirt.

So Finn relented and let Poe help him. It would make Poe feel better, and anyway, there was this warm squiggly feeling building in his insides as Poe touched him that made Finn think he didn’t entirely mind. Poe was standing so close to him as he brushed down the front of the shirt, as if to smooth out any wrinkles, and he had the loveliest eyes.

“Thanks,” Finn said, “but you really didn’t have to.”

“Maybe I just think you look nice in my shirt,” Poe teased.

“Uh huh,” Finn said, and bent down to retrieve his own shirt. “I’ll get it back to you later?”

“Whatever. Keep it if you like. My dad sent over some stuff so it’s not like I’ll miss it.” Poe ran his hand through his hair. “You do look nice in it.”

That warm squiggly feeling was growing again. “Thanks,” Finn said again, and ducked out.

He wouldn’t ever admit it to Poe, but he liked the sensation of Poe’s shirt on his skin, even though in his head he knew it was just the same as his own shirt. He liked how it felt, and that when he breathed in it smelled like Poe.

Maybe he would keep it.

-

In the evenings people on base took turns picking out their favorite holofilms and projected them in the rec room so everyone who was free and interested could watch; Finn loved it. Everything had been regulated in the First Order so each film was a novel experience to him. 

Snap liked horror films; Finn wasn’t so sure he did. The jump scares made him yelp, which in turn made Rey laugh at him. The plus side was that Poe draped his arm around Finn’s shoulders and said, “Relax, buddy, it’s not real.”

“Obviously,” Finn said, smacking Poe’s knee even as he gratefully snuggled faintly closer.

Zon was there tonight, sitting over at one of the tables they used for cards. He didn’t laugh when Finn gasped louder than everyone else but he did look over and smile, like he thought Finn was kind of cute. Finn wondered if he shouldn’t sit by Zon instead but Poe felt warm and comfortable and he didn’t actually want to move.

So he didn’t, and Poe never dropped his arm.

-

“Zon is very cute,” Rey said from beneath the console of the  _ Millennium Falcon _ . 

“Hmm?” Finn said idly, looking up from his datapad. “Yeah, I suppose.”

“He likes you.”

“You think so?”

“You should ask him out.”

“I can’t--”

“Hydrospanner.” Rey stuck her hand out.

Finn rummaged until he found it; he had gotten much better at identifying Rey’s tools since he’d met her. 

“He’ll say yes. You should give it a shot.”

“Maybe,” Finn said, and gnawed at his lip. Somehow it all seemed more intense, more deliberate, if Finn were to initiate them spending time together. It was different if Rey did it.

“Hey,” Rey said, poking her head out from beneath the console. “It was only an idea. Like before. You don’t have to. I just thought you might get on, and you might… you know.”

“Yeah,” Finn said, and wondered why this felt so hard as opposed to, say, asking Poe if he wanted to hang out. Maybe because Poe was his friend.

He stood up. “I’m gonna see if he’s busy.”

Rey beamed at him. “Tell me what happens!”

“As if you’d ever stop pestering me if I didn’t.” Finn strode out of the cockpit and through the corridors, until he was beneath the artificial lights in the hangar. The hangar itself was underground, as was the majority of the base, built into the side of a mountain and then stretching beneath. It had taken Finn a few days to learn how to navigate the maze of tunnels; apparently it had been abandoned from the days of the Rebellion.

It wasn’t far to the infirmary, though, but upon arriving a droid informed Finn that Zon was currently off-duty.

“Oh,” Finn said, and wondered what he should do. Try to find Zon? Was that weird? Forget about the whole thing?

The problem essentially solved itself when Finn nearly ran into Zon in the hall.

“Sorry! Damn, sorry,” Finn said, Zon gripping him by the arms and laughing. 

“In a rush somewhere?”

“No, I was just, er, thinking, I… Hey, do you want to get something to eat?”

Zon smiled at him. “I was just on my way to the canteen.”

“Great,” Finn said, and hoped he didn’t look like too much of a moon jockey.

It must have been okay because Zon kept chatting pleasantly throughout dinner, leaning in across the table and listening intently whenever Finn spoke. His eyes matched the green of his skin and he really was very cute, as Rey had put it. He had a tendency towards being touchy, like Poe was; sometimes he reached out and laid his fingers on Finn’s wrist, smilingly, or nudged his knee underneath the table.

“Buddy,” said a familiar voice, and Poe draped himself around Finn’s back, his voice rumbling near Finn’s ear. “You wanna come have a flying lesson? We can use the simulators.”

It took Finn a moment to process that; he wondered how Poe always managed to smell so good. “Really?”

“Sure,” Poe said, straightening, though he left his hand on Finn’s shoulder. “Sorry if I’m interrupting?”

“We were just finishing up,” Zon said, nice enough, though it made Finn feel suddenly guilty.

“Sorry, I can--”

Zon waved him off. “Nah, go on. Have a good lesson. Maybe we can do this again?”

“Yeah,” Finn said, meaning it. “Absolutely.” 

Poe’s hand tightened a little on Finn’s shoulder but he just waved at Zon when he got up. “That’s my shirt,” he said, moving back as Finn cleared his plate.

Finn felt his skin flush. He hadn’t even realized it. “I guess it is.”

“Looks good on you,” Poe said with his wide, happy grin. 

“Everything looks good on me,” Finn said to hide his embarrassment. It didn’t smell like Poe anymore, after washing, but he still liked how it felt against his skin, soft and worn.

“Yeah,” Poe agreed, bumping his shoulder against Finn’s.

The flight simulators were in a room off the hangar, empty for the time being. Finn liked using them, though honestly he was less certain if he actually enjoyed the simulated flying or if he enjoyed Poe’s genuine enthusiasm at helping him learn. Finn knew he would never be able to fly like Poe but he liked the idea of having the basic skill if he ever needed it. He wanted to be able to do more than crash shuttles onto Cantonica beaches.

“Buckle up, pal,” Poe said, slipping his headset on, while Finn did the same.

“Aye aye, Commander,” he said, and Poe grinned at him.

They were flying X-wings; inside the simulation, Poe was good-natured but firm. Finn sometimes didn’t even realize he was learning because he was having so much fun, but Poe always let him know when he was making a mistake. Mistakes would kill you in a cockpit and if Finn believed anything, it was that Poe wanted to ensure that didn’t happen.

He took unsustainable fire from a TIE and crashed spectacularly. There was sweat beaded at his temples when he came out of the sim; it might not have been real but it was still kind of stressful.

“That’s thirty seconds longer than last time,” Poe said with good cheer. “Your turn was a bit slow, let him get too good an angle on you. Again?”

“Again,” Finn agreed, and hoped to earn Poe’s warm praise.

-

“You’re terrible at this game,” Finn said as his Houjix defeated Rose’s Ng’ok.

“Shut up,” she grumbled, but her eyes were bright enough. “Paige was always better at this one than me.”

Finn wished he could have known Paige. From Rose’s stories, she had been an amazing person. “Maybe you’ll pick something up from losing to me,” he teased, which made Rose roll her eyes.

“Mind if I interrupt?”

Finn looked up from Rose to the figure of Zon just beyond the rec room’s dejarik table (donated by Chewbacca, probably obtained illegally, no one had asked). He ignored the way Rose’s eyebrows were lifting suggestively in favor of smiling at Zon. “Zon! I’m about to win, so Rose won’t mind if we stop.”

Rose kicked Finn underneath the table but she was laughing, and so was Zon. 

“If you’re free,” he said, “I thought we might take a walk? It’s lovely out.”

“He’s free,” Rose said before Finn could even open his mouth. She stood up, her smile entirely knowing. “Have a good time! See you later!”

“My friends like you,” Finn said, like an idiot, feeling his ears heat up.

“The real question is,” Zon said, holding his hand out, “do you?”

“Figuring it out,” Finn said as he accepted Zon’s hand up.

“Good enough for me.”

Zon had been right; it really was a lovely evening. The terrain was rocky but the planet was temperate; the sun was just setting, bathing the sky in vibrant color. They walked side-by-side, arms brushing now and again, and Finn did like Zon. Quite a bit.

He just didn’t know if he liked him enough.

“I think,” Zon said, “this might be the first significant amount of time I’ve spent with you that won’t end with you getting dragged off by Poe Dameron. At least, not unless his mission was cut significantly short.”

Finn blinked. “Poe?”

The set of Zon’s mouth was wry. “He certainly likes you, but I’m not so sure about me.”

“Poe likes pretty much everyone.”

“And you?”

“You mean do I like Poe? Yeah, of course, he was basically my first friend.”

They had stopped walking, Zon gazing intently into Finn’s eyes. “Only your friend?”

Finn chewed on his lip. “I… Yeah, I guess so, I mean…”

“I’m just wondering,” Zon said, tracing Finn’s jaw with his fingertip, “how welcome it would be if I kissed you.”

“Welcome,” Finn murmured, caught by the green of Zon’s eyes.

Zon kissed him sweetly, just a light press of their mouths, and Finn let his hand rest on Zon’s waist. It was different than Rose, the firmer, harsher angles of Zon’s body.

Finn thought he liked it more. He wanted to stroke his hand over Zon’s headtails but didn’t dare; he kept his eyes closed a moment when Zon pulled back.

“Still welcome?” Zon asked, one hand at the small of Finn’s back.

And Finn wanted to say yes, but it still wasn’t… Something was missing, only Finn couldn’t figure out what it was. He liked Zon, and he liked the way Zon felt against him, but he didn’t really… want him.

“I’m sorry,” Finn said, and watched the way the eagerness in Zon’s eyes flickered a little. “I like you, but I…”

“Just not enough,” Zon said, and nudged Finn back into motion. “That’s okay.”

“Maybe… maybe I’ll change my mind? I’m kind of figuring stuff out.”

“Yeah,” Zon said, and his smile was kind. “You’ll let me know if you do? In the meantime, how does friends sound?”

“Amazing,” Finn said, and they walked back to base.

-

Finn sat on a ledge in the hangar and watched the pilots and mechanics below, in constant conversation and activity, working on repairs and modifications and hashing out schedules. Rose was dismantling the weapons system in an A-wing while nearby, Poe chatted with BB-8 and polished his X-wing, his sleeves rolled up and his hair tousled. 

Finn wasn’t exactly surprised when Rey found him, climbing up and sitting beside him without a word.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said, and Rey waited for him to continue. “I don’t think I’m into girls. At least, not any girls here.”

Rey looked at him with a mix of fondness and amusement. “Finn, why do you think I’ve been finding you dates with guys?”

“Well, I’m glad you’re not surprised,” Finn huffed, though he wasn’t really irritated. It had felt like a revelation, but Rey’s reaction made him think maybe he had been the last one to realize.

Except that didn’t feel right, either. Finn could have asked Jess Pava to share lunch instead of Syresh, or he could have taken walks with Kaydel Ko Connix instead of Zon. He hadn’t wanted to.

Maybe he had only needed some time to learn how to verbalize it.

“It was just what you said about Rose,” Rey said, nudging his foot with hers. “And maybe a few other things.”

Finn narrowed his eyes. “Other things?”

“Not bad things. Just how you are with… with… Anyway, it doesn’t matter.”

Finn decided to let it go. “I liked Syresh, and Zon, and those other guys, but I still don’t think I like them the way it would feel if I really, really liked them.”

“That’s okay, you know. You don’t have to. You don’t have to like anyone that way.”

“I know. But I just thought…” Finn shrugged. “Feels like something’s missing.”

“You’ll work it out,” Rey said, and leaned her head against Finn’s.

After a few minutes, Finn watched as Poe caught sight of them from the ground, waving.

“Hey,” he called up. “Want to give me a hand?”

Exchanging a glance with Rey, Finn said, “Does he mean you or me?”

“Think he’ll take both, but he wants you.”

Finn didn’t know why that made him want to blush. “But I don’t even know what I’m doing. You’re the mechanic.”

“I don’t think that’s the point,” Rey said, and bumped his shoulder. “I’m gonna go find Chewie. Help Poe. You’ll have fun.”

“So is that a yes or a no?” Poe asked, one hand on his hip.

“Finn says yes,” Rey said, dragging him up with her, and Finn was distracted from responding to her by the sight of Poe’s wide smile. Damn he had a great smile.

He and Rey parted ways down on the floor and Finn went over to Poe, saying, “You know I don’t know the first thing about X-wings.”

“I like your company,” Poe said, touching his elbow. “And this can be part of our lessons.”

So Finn “helped”, which mostly meant joking around with Poe and listening when Poe pointed out what things were and how they worked. Their close proximity and Poe’s handsiness, coupled with the way he kept smiling, was making that squiggly feeling swell in Finn’s belly.

Finn realized that maybe Rey was right: he was working it out. 

-

“See,” Finn said, as he and Poe walked out of the canteen, “we can have a meal together without it being you crashing one of my dates.”

Poe had the dignity to look embarrassed. “I wasn’t trying to--”

Finn let himself brush against Poe’s side, a sort of pleasant shiver running through him at the contact. “Yeah, I know. I’m really just teasing.”

“How… how’s it going, anyway? You seemed pretty cozy with Zon.”

“Just friends. I mean, that’s what I thought was going on to start with anyway, right?” Finn grinned a little to show he knew he had been kind of stupidly oblivious. 

Tension slid out of Poe’s shoulders. “That’s good. I mean, I’m sorry?”

Finn laughed. “It’s okay.”

“Actually,” Poe said, pulling Finn into an emptier corridor and stopping in place, “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have kept butting in on you, that was rude. Guess I was, I don’t know, jealous.”

Finn lifted an eyebrow. “Jealous?”

Poe was blushing. “Wasn’t used to sharing you so much.”

“That’s kind of sweet.”

“Whatever,” Poe said and looked away. “But, uh, I hope you find what you want.”

_ I think I have,  _ Finn thought, and suddenly wanted desperately for Poe to gift him with that radiant smile, that smile that made Finn feel like he was the center of the universe. 

“I realized,” he said, and swallowed, making himself meet Poe’s eyes. “For a long time I didn’t even notice that you were technically wrecking my dates, and it wasn’t only because it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize they were dates. It was because it was you, because I’m always spending time with you, because I want to. I always want to spend the most time with you.”

Finn swallowed again, wishing he had something to drink to clear his throat. “I didn’t want those other guys. I think… I think… I think I mostly just want you.”

Finn only had a second to be embarrassed, Poe gazing at him wide-eyed, because then Poe was kissing him.

And  _ yes. _

Kissing Rose had been nice, but kind of weird, and kissing Zon had been almost right, but not quite.

Kissing Poe was perfect.

Poe kissed like Finn was everything he wanted, insistent pressure, his thumbs stroking over Finn’s cheeks before he slid his hands elsewhere, cupping the back of Finn’s neck, one working down over his back. Finn held Poe’s hips, fingers digging in, and when he opened his mouth to breathe, Poe opened his and kissed him harder.

He tasted faintly bitter, like he had been drinking caf, and they were pressed together from chest to hip. Finn hadn’t known it could feel like this, it could feel this good, the warmth of Poe’s body and the slide of his tongue, and by the time they separated he felt nearly light-headed.

“Oh,” he sighed, clutching Poe, their foreheads bent together. “Poe.” He thought that maybe Poe was everything he wanted, too.

“So,” Poe said. “In case it wasn’t clear, I want to spend the most time with you, too.”

“I think I got that, yeah.”

“Just making sure.” Poe pressed kisses to the side of Finn’s face and Finn laughed because he couldn’t not; he had never been this happy before.

-

“So I think,” Finn said to Rey, early the next morning as they sat in the canteen with cups of caf, “that I do like guys but especially I like Poe.”

“That’s… not surprising.”

“It isn’t?”

“I kind of thought… you might like him the way you didn’t like Rose, actually, but it felt too pushy? To suggest you date him? So I just thought maybe if I set you up with enough other guys you two might sort yourselves out, if that’s what you really wanted.”

“That’s a bit devious.” The meddling, it seemed, had gone far, far deeper than Finn had suspected. He was still, though, kind of touched instead of aggravated. Finn had never had a friend to care about him and his happiness as much as Rey did, and he supposed his lack of familiarity with normal social behavior was matched around here only by Rey’s.

So, yeah. It was hard to be aggravated. 

Shrugging, Rey said, “I guess, maybe. Really I didn’t know what else to do?”

“I think I’m probably supposed to be mad at you but…” Finn bit his lip and grinned. “I made out with Poe, so I can’t be mad.”

“You what?” Rey shoved him. “You made out with Poe?”

“I guess he’s like my boyfriend now.” Finn liked how that sounded. Boyfriend. Poe was his boyfriend. Maybe they could make out again later, after Poe was done with his training drills.

Rey looked at him doubtfully. “So… it worked?”

“Kriffing hell,” Finn said, and knocked his shoulder against Rey’s.

She grinned, her tone now sure and confident. “It worked.”

“You’re a terrible friend,” Finn said, but that was a lie. “Maybe I should try to make you some new ones. You know, like set-ups.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Rey said, her face scrunching in horrified disgust, and Finn couldn’t help but laugh.

He wouldn’t, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy making Rey squirm. “I’ll ask Poe. He knows everyone.”

“This was the worst idea I ever had in my life,” Rey said, crossing her arms over her chest and working herself into a sulk that only made Finn laugh again.

No, he thought. It had been her best idea, he was certain of it.


End file.
